Dash, Litecoin Gain Usage On Dark Web In Favor Of Bitcoin

While Bitcoin has gained mainstream popularity in recent months, it’s lost favor with a certain group of users: criminals. People paying for illicit services are moving to alternative cryptocurrencies.

According to a study conducted by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, users of the dark web are starting to move away from Bitcoin and opting for options that improve upon Bitcoin’s functionality. Litecoin and Dash have emerged as two of the biggest competitors.

The study found cyber criminals began growing frustrated with Bitcoin in 2016 as the digital currency started to gain value and in turn saw its transaction fees increase and processing speed slow down.

“Bitcoin payments have become economically infeasible, because the subsequent cost of transaction increased ten-fold, sometimes as much as 30 percent of the smaller payment amounts,” researchers at Recorded Future wrote.